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Cerberon
The closest thing the Strogg race has to a Human-style capital city, Cerberon is located toward the northern extremity of an enormous geological feature, known to Mankind as 'Crater Majoris', on the Strogg homeworld of Stroggos. The city is protected by an array of defensive systems, and houses multiple military complexes of varying purposes and sizes, communications arrays, transportation hubs, and what has been dubbed the 'Palace' of the Strogg leader; the Makron (which is partially explored in the game Quake 2). History Very little is known about the history of the city or its surrounding area, beyond of the fact that a major stellar impact occurred on the site some time in the past, although it cannot have been too long ago as it has not been completely worn away by natural weathering processes. The fact that Cerberon appears to be very well established indicates that the age of the impact crater is probably much greater than the Strogg civilization, as the impact would have been catastrophic for all life on the world. The city's significance to the Strogg race is probably linked to their civilization's distant past, or its origins. It might, for example, have been the site of an important city or citadel built by their creator race, perhaps before they existed. That is, if hypotheses suggesting that they are a race bred by another purely for war can be substantiated. Surface-penetrating radar scans and a great many archaeological excavations would be required to learn more on the ground, and tech teams would need to work for many months on salvaging, translating and examining surviving Strogg databases to see if any historical records can be located. Neither appear to be forthcoming at this time, however, as the war is still ongoing and all available resources are being directed toward the war effort. In Quake 2, wherein the Palace complex is explored, it is possible for the player to make his or her way to its very lowest basements, dug out of the earth as the complex was built. Emerging from the basement walls are what are clearly very old brick and mortar walls, eerily similar to those found all over the Earth today. Is this evidence, perhaps, of a less hellish and more civilized, even a more Human, era on Stroggos? Natural Defenses While much of Cerberon and its Strogg defensive systems appear to be sited on relatively flat terrain, the inner city and the Palace at its heart are located on more defensible ground; a natural rise in the crater floor, riddled with gorges and rough ground, making surface assaults difficult. The city itself is surrounded to the north, north-east and north-west by the tall rim of Crater Majoris, which acts as a natural barrier against ground attacks from those directions. To the east of the main city lies a system of deep canyons cutting north-to-south through the crater, the northern-most point of which is located on the outskirts of Cerberon's inner city. The canyon system's southern reaches widen and deepen into two large basin-like structures, smaller canyons heading east and west of them like the tendrils of a plant. Cutting up the terrain, making direct ground assaults on the city or its defenses from open ground difficult, the canyons are, at least in certain places, partially filled with molten lava, indicating ongoing geological activity. Between and around these handful of significant natural obstacles lies a considerable amount of treacherous terrain which doesn't necessarily register on photos gathered by Human military intelligence in orbit, featuring rivers, pools, crevasses, even whole canyons of water or molten lava, along with rocky outcroppings, jutting cliffs and other difficult features. Strogg Defenses The capital is heavily protected by a wide range of different defenses. First among these defensive systems is the Strogg planetary defense network, which defends the world itself, in addition to the capital, from attacks from space. It consists of several very large weapons, the only two of which we know about being the Big Gun and Gravity Well, which are both located to the south of the main city. The Big Gun dominates the southern skyline. Closer to home, a large hangar complex located in the outer city, close to the Makron's Palace, house the capital's main air defenses, including a large number of Strogg Gorgon Fighters. In addition to these, the whole city is ringed on the ground by an enormous grid of deadly laser fences, which extends around a large industrial sector to the south of the planetary defenses. All of the facilities above are heavily defended by a great many well-armed ground units, stationed in and around them. Category:Stroggos Locations